Digital three-dimensional object manufacturing, also known as digital additive manufacturing, is a process of making a three-dimensional solid object from a digital model. Three-dimensional object printing is an additive process in which successive layers of material are formed on a substrate in different shapes. The layers can be formed by ejecting binder material, directed energy deposition, extruding material, ejecting material, fusing powder beds, laminating sheets, or exposing liquid photopolymer material to a curing radiation. The substrate on which the layers are formed is supported either on a platform that can be moved three dimensionally by operation of actuators operatively connected to the platform, or the material deposition devices are operatively connected to one or more actuators for controlled movement of the deposition devices to produce the layers that form the object. Three-dimensional object printing is distinguishable from traditional object-forming techniques, which mostly rely on the removal of material from a work piece by a subtractive process, such as cutting or drilling.
One shortcoming in the production of three-dimensional objects is precise positioning of pre-fabricated components within an object. Currently, precise positioning of components in subtractive manufacturing methods is achieved by precision machining of mounting and locating features for components within a casting that contains the components. The costs associated with the machining process to form these features as well as the subsequent inspection to verify the tolerances of the machining are steep. In order to incorporate precisely positioned components in a three-dimensionally printed objects, a portion of the three-dimensionally printed object needs to be printed, the printed structure cured, the components installed, and the remainder of the object printed. This intermingling of operations and reliance on freshly printed structures in the object to hold the components and maintain the precise positioning of the components is difficult to achieve. Thus, a three-dimensional object printer that can form objects with precisely positioned components would be useful.